Adventure Unwritten
by Jedi Corellia
Summary: Pre-AOTC AU - Emilia Jenner and her best friend Anakin Skywalker are two Jedi, with unwritten fates, an adventure, and romance, they never imagined possible. Anakin, Obi Wan Kenobi, Ferus Olin, others. Anakin OC
1. Tabari's

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own Star Wars, Anakin, Obi Wan, or Ferus Olin. However, I do own Emilia Jenner and Tesoro Wei.**

I've known the one and only "Chosen One" Anakin Skywalker since I was nine, almost ten; he was ten, almost eleven. We were both Padawan Learners at the Jedi Temple, and I met him the very first day when he stood by himself when we were doing lightsaber practices. I went up and introduced myself. "Hi, my name's Emilia," I said to him. "What's your name?"

"I'm Anakin," he said. I shook his hand and we were best friends since then. My master, Tesoro Wei, was the cousin of Anakin's master, Obi Wan Kenobi.

What was so special about Anakin and I's relationship was that we had the same birthday. He was exactly one year older than me, which I used to think was pretty cool.

Last month I turned nineteen, and he turned twenty. He couldn't stop babbling about this Senator he's so in love with. He's been talking about her since he was ten, but now since she's on Coruscant Anakin's gone crazy.

"Relax Ani," I said. "You haven't seen her for ten years."

"I know," Anakin said. "But…she's just special."

I developed a teensy weensy crush on Anakin when I was fourteen, after Anakin stood up for me and sort of _punched _a teenage guy on the streets who tried to pickpocket me when we were walking down to a diner on Coruscant. Thank goodness Obi Wan and Tesoro said they would "meet us there" otherwise we would have been punished for losing control of our anger.

Now, Anakin and I were sitting on the couch in his quarters going over the facts of the mission on Corellia that Jenner and Obi Wan just came back from. And of course, Senator Amidala comes into the conversation. I've learned to put up with it since I was TEN, but I get really fed up with him about it sometimes.

"You're not going to see her for like another month, Ani," I assured.

I was the only one who Anakin allowed to call him Ani. He hated it at first, but he learned to put up with it after awhile.

"I'm going to wash up before Tesoro and Obi Wan come with Ferus Olin," I said, standing up.

Anakin groaned. "Why does Ferus Olin have to come?"

"Because," I said quickly. "He's a strong Jedi."

I went into the bathroom and stared at myself in the mirror. Pale blonde ringlets, twin cobalt blue eyes, and glowing pale skin (which I hated…why couldn't I have a light tan like Anakin?).

I splashed water on my face and brushed a comb through my thick my bouncy curls. I tied them into a braid down my back and smoothened out my Jedi robes as I heard Obi Wan, Jenner, and Ferus enter.

I walked out of the bathroom. "Hi," I said shyly to Ferus. "I'm Emilia Jenner."

Anakin smirked and rolled his eyes.

"Nice to meet you," Ferus said smoothly. "I'm Ferus Olin."

"I'm Anakin, by the way," Anakin said sarcastically, "if anyone cares."

"So we came to discuss the case on Corellia, did we not?" Tesoro reminded us, brushing a piece of his dark hair behind his ear.

We all sat around Anakin's coffee table and discussed notes.

After a long, hard, few hours of babbling on and on about the mission, we finally wrapped up the note swapping. "I'm heading down to Tabari's tonight to investigate around that area. Anyone care to join me?" Ferus asked.

"Sure," I said.

"I guess I will, since I don't have a choice," Anakin said.

Tabari's was a really good bar/nightclub. I've only gone there once for a rowdy engagement party for my good friend.

Three hours later, Anakin and I washed up to go to Tabari's. It was late at night, and the club was way downtown where all the bars were.

Tabari's was a one-level bar, with a huge circular bar in the middle, and neon-tiled dance floors surrounding them. All across the walls were flat screens viewing Podraces, holonet news, and other wild galactic sports. The disco balls across the room glittered with shimmering colorful lights.

"So remind me why we're here again?" Anakin groaned.

"Bounty hunters," Ferus replied, sliding onto a barstool. "This particular bar has had fourteen bar fights in the past two months, and nine of them have injured, one of them took a life. So since I just back from a big mission, the Council is cutting me some slack and giving me a simple case."

I smiled like an idiot. Ferus was kind of cute, you know? Even though we're both Jedi, and we couldn't be together even if Ferus WOULD like me which would be pretty impossible, there's no reason I couldn't think he's cute. I don't crush on guys easily. I've known Ferus for 3 years, even though we've only met twice not including the time this afternoon. And I love Anakin. I don't crush on him. I don't have a giggly, stupid, flimsy schoolgirl _crush _on Anakin, I love him. And he will never know…which hurts me. But I've learned to put up with it. I've loved him for four years, since I was fifteen.

I've been best friends with Anakin since I was almost ten. We've done sparring thousands of times together. We've shared memories together. We've played hide and seek in the rooftop gardens before. We've studied the planets together.

"You're smiling a little too much," Anakin whispered in my ear. I thwacked him on the shoulder.

"You guys drink?" Ferus asked us.

"Nope," Anakin replied. "Emilia couldn't drink for her life."

"Please," I said to Anakin. "I could drink black Vespucci if I wanted to?"

The bartender chuckled and filled a shot cup of black Vespucci, an apparently strong vodka drink…nothing I couldn't handle.

I took the shot cup and stared down into it. It was thick, black, and looked a little gritty. Yuck. It reeked of alcohol that almost intoxicated me just from the scent.

"Here goes," I moaned regretfully. I swallowed it quickly.

It tasted horrid. Its pungent taste bit at my throat and felt like a razor just slit my neck open. Its tangy aftertaste suffocated me with overpowering bitter intoxication.

I gagged on it. Anakin burst out laughing.

"Let's see you try it," I rasped ruefully.

The burning Vespucci had a negative effect on me. My eyelids felt like huge weights, and everything within eyesight started to get all fuzzy. I'm not going to lie, all of the alcohol I've ever drunken before this was light Athenian wine, and this was the first time alcohol had taken a negative toll for me.

"Anakin, I can't see anything," I said, my vision shifting between blurry and black-and-white, making me dizzy.

"Oh boy," Anakin said. "I'll walk you home, Emi."

I stumbled off of my barstool and teetered on my feet.

I hardly noticed when Anakin scooped me up and carried me out of Tabari's.

Anakin waved to Ferus and said, "Thanks for inviting us Ferus, we have to go now!"

**No P.O.V.**

It's not often you see a strong, tall Jedi carrying a fair-haired, beautiful, intoxicated Jedi bridal-style into the Jedi Temple.

Luckily, it was late enough at the Jedi Temple that most of the Jedi were in their quarters or at a meeting, so Anakin and Emilia slipped in unnoticed.

Tesoro and Obi Wan were visiting Tesoro's father, who was Obi Wan's uncle, who was on Coruscant for a few days, so Emilia had the quarters to herself for the night.

Emilia squirmed out of Anakin's arms when he tried to lay her down in her bed. "I'm not tired, Ani," she whined.

"You need to rest," Anakin persisted.

"No," Emilia pouted.

She stood up and started to teeter.

Anakin caught her and pulled her back upright.

Emilia, still intoxicated, tilted up to her tiptoes and brushed her lips against Anakin's.

Anakin was surprised. "Emilia, you are REALLY drunk—"

Emilia kissed him again, gently, but passionately.

This time, Anakin kissed back.

Emilia put her hands around Anakin's neck. Anakin cradled Emilia's back and kicked the bedroom door closed behind him.


	2. The Outbreak

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own Obi Wan Kenobi, Ferus Olin, Anakin Skywalker, or any other Star Wars characters.**

**No P.O.V.**

Emilia peeled open her eyelids and sat up in her bed. Ugh…she hated hangovers.

Her stomach churned. What had happened last night? She had gone to Tabari's, she had gotten black Vespucci, and Anakin had walked her home, that's all she remembered.

She kicked off her covers and ran into the bathroom. Emilia vomited and leaned weakly against the toilet.

Emilia walked out into the living room to find Anakin lying on the couch flipping through the holonet news.

"Hey Emi," Anakin said. "How's your hangover."

"My hangover's fine," Emilia lied.

"You're a terrible liar, Emi," Anakin said. "You were throwing up in there. I could hear you all the way in here."

"What are you even doing in my quarters?" Emilia asked, brushing one of her pale, glossy blonde ringlets behind her ear.

"I slept over," Anakin said, staring at the screen as if he was hiding something.

"Um, okay," Emilia said slowly. "I'm still in my nightshirt; I'm going to go dress into my robes."

Emilia went into her bedroom at pulled off her nightshirt. It reeked of alcohol. She tossed it in the hamper and pulled on light brown robes.

Emilia flopped down next to Anakin on the couch. "Anakin," Emilia said cautiously. "What happened last night…after you walked me home."

Anakin looked over at Emilia. "Well…nothing much happened."

Emilia slapped Anakin on the shoulder playfully. "Come on, Anakin. You're my best friend! You can tell me…especially because I have no memory of it."

"You…kissed me," Anakin muttered.

"WHAT?" Emilia shrieked. "Wait what happened?"

"You kissed me," Anakin repeated.

"What did you do?"

"I…wait you don't remember any of this right?" Anakin asked.

"Anakin Skywalker!" Emilia said. "Tell me what really happened."

"I have to go to my quarters—" Anakin said, and started to stand up.

Emilia leapt to her feet and tackled Anakin to the ground.

"Oh dear Emi, what are you doing?" Anakin asked.

Emilia rolled Anakin over onto his back and pinned his arms above his head.

"I want you to tell me, now," Emilia said sternly. "I'm serious. When have I not told you anything?"

"The time you hid my lightsaber in the supply closet and you wouldn't tell me where it was," Anakin mused.

"I was twelve," Emilia said.

"And I was thirteen," Anakin said. "Remember our birthday, when you turned twelve and I turned thirteen?"

"Yes," Emilia said. "You locked me in my bathroom."

"But I also gave you a handheld holoprojector."

"Stop trying to change the subject!" Emilia persisted.

Anakin just smiled. Emilia's face was so close to his that her silky blonde tresses brushed his nose.

Anakin, stronger with his biceps and triceps, pushed Emilia off of him and rolled over so he was hovering over her.

"I don't think I'll tell you," Anakin leapt to his feet and walked out the door before Emilia had a chance to get up.

She swung open the door and stormed after him down the hallway. She was faster than Anakin, and she quickly gained on him. Emilia ran up next to him and elbowed him hard, so he staggered up against the wall.

"Anakin," Emilia said. "I'm going to ask you one more time. What happened last night?"

"Your fatal flaw is your persistence and curiosity," Anakin said, staring his stormy eyes into Emilia's dark cobalt blue ones.

"Yours is your stubbornness," Emilia said.

Anakin brushed a pale blonde ringlet behind Emilia's ear.

Emilia's heart skipped a beat and her light cheeks flushed pink.

"You kissed me," Anakin said.

"You already told me that," Emilia said impatiently.

"I know," Anakin said.

"Did anything else happen that night?"

"You're really persistent, did you know that?"

"Don't change the subject," Emilia whined. "You know what? Forget it."

"It's already forgotten, Emi," Anakin said playfully.

"You know I was really, really, really drunk that night?"

"I know," Anakin said. "You have soft lips."

"I put coco butter on them every night," Emilia said. "They get chapped easily."

**Dex's Diner**

**Emilia's P.O.V.**

"I'll be right around with your order," the waitress told me and Anakin.

"Thank you," Anakin said.

"I can't WAIT to see Padme," Anakin gushed.

"You sound like an excited little girl about to get candy," I mused.

"But I haven't seen her in ten years, and I'm going to see her in a week."

"You've told me," I said, twirling my straw around in my drink.

"Want to see what she looks like?" Anakin asked. "I have a picture of her on my mini holoprojector."

I laughed. "I'm not surprised."

Anakin took out a handheld holoprojector, similar to the one that he made for me for my twelfth birthday, and clicked open a picture. She was beautiful, with a big headdress.

"Where'd you find a picture of her?" I asked. "You made that holoprojector not long before you gave me mine, and I thought you hadn't seen her since you were ten."

"She's all over the holonet," Anakin said. "You can find pictures of her everywhere."

"Stalker…" I joked.

"Am not," Anakin defended. "Give me your holoprojector."

I slapped my holoprojector into his hand.

He clicked it open and browsed through my pictures.

"Hey!" I said. "You know that's personal stuff—"

"I remember this!" Anakin said. He clicked open a picture. It was me and Anakin when I was like thirteen, he was fourteen, and we were smiling. That was back when I still wore headbands. I hated how my curls would always get in my eyes when I was trying to focus, so I got little titanium headbands and used them to pin my ringlets out of my eyes.

"Yeah," I said. "That was the time Ugon Quinta and his master gave us a tour of the pipelines and sewers. That wasn't the most fragrant trip I've had. I really wouldn't suggest that you look through my pictures—"

Anakin clicked open another one. It was of me and Ferus Olin when we were about four, when Tesoro and Siri Tachi met up. I didn't even have all of my baby teeth yet. We were holding our little lightsabers. We didn't meet again till we were like fourteen. Then we met last night, and I got drunk and now I'm wondering what the heck happened last night that Anakin won't tell me.

I had uploaded all of my pictures from my old holoprojector to my new one that Anakin gave me when I was twelve.

"Who's the stalker now, Emilia?" Anakin laughed.

"Not me," Emilia said. "How can I be the stalker when I was there?"

"Good point," Anakin said. "But how can you explain this one of a classic custom-made titanium hilted magenta lightsaber?"

"That was my grandma's," I replied. "I still have it. It's back at my parents' house on Naboo. She resigned from the Jedi Order when she was thirty. She's not alive anymore though. And also, how could I be stalker if I had a diagram of a custom-made lightsaber?"

"I don't know," Anakin said. "Maybe you stole the diagrams."

"You're crazy," I decided. "But I can show you how to make one like this. It's only my family that knows how to. There used to be like a ton of people who knew how to from my mom's home planet, but they all died in an explosion. Now I don't think the planet is inhabited anymore."

"Lovely," Anakin said. "How DO you make one of those lightsabers?"

"Well, you have to have a titanium hilt and a lightsaber crystal, and of course a blade," I explained. "You have to go through some special crafting processes to make the hilt though. Since they're all custom made, you have to get a mold for the hilt to fit your hand shape and stuff. It's pretty cool."

"I'll say," Anakin said.

"Here's your food," the waitress said, setting down our meals on the table.

"Thank you," I said as she walked away.

"So, do you like Ferus Olin?" Anakin asked.

"No," I said quietly.

"Found another picture of him," Anakin said, still flipping through my holoprojector. It was a picture of us when we were about fourteen, we were hanging out with Siri and Tesoro, and we were studying the strategies for a mission on Duro. Then when I went to the bookshelves to get a map, a young, young Padawan bumped into me and I fell into the bookcase and bent my ankle. Ferus had to carry me bridal style back to the infirmary to get my ankle checked. That's when Tesoro decided to take a picture of us on my holoprojector. My hair was in a fishtail braid, and I was smiling like an idiot, as always. Ferus's eyes were twinkling from the smile that lit up his lips, and was holding me as if we were just married. When Tesoro decided to give me back my holoprojector, I didn't delete it. Why? I don't know why.

"Don't judge, I was shoved into a bookcase," I defended.

**No P.O.V.**

**Next Week**

Anakin bounced nervously in the elevator. He was going to meet Padme.

"Relax," Obi Wan assured.

"I haven't seen her for ten years, master," Anakin said, sweat beading down his temple.

The elevator slid open. Anakin and Obi Wan stepped out.

Later, Padme exited the elevator in her lovely gown and headdress.

"Ani?" Pademe asked. "Little Ani?"

Anakin's muscles tensed. Normally he would get angry if anyone but Emilia called him Ani, but hey, she was a successful senator…cut her some slack.

Obi Wan, Anakin, Padme, and Captain Typho sat around a coffee table. Apparently, a bounty hunter has been attempting to assassinate Padme.

They reached a verdict…Anakin would guard Padme.

Anakin cheered inside. He would get to guard Padme…how exciting! Wait, he and Emilia were supposed to conduct a search for a bounty hunter around downtown Coruscant…but Emilia would understand.

**Emilia's Quarters**

**Emilia's P.O.V**

Emilia had been nauseous all day. She had been vomiting since morning, and she decided she would have to go to the doctor for diagnosis.

She hopped into a speeder and drove over to a little infirmary that she had been going to since she was little.

Her doctor, Twyla Nybo, a twi'lek, met her immediately.

"No fever," Twyla determined. "Let me take a blood sample."

Twyla clicked Emilia's blood sample into her machine, and clicked in information and waited for a response.

"You're pregnant," Twyla said firmly.

If Emilia was drinking water right then, she would have choked on it.

"What?" Emilia asked. "No, that's impossible!"

"Apparently not," Twyla said. "The father has a midichlorian count of…oh my…27,000. Do you know anyone with a midichlorian count like that?"

Anakin. All of this dropped like weights on Emilia's shoulders. Anakin…what happened the night on Tabari's?

"Um, one quick question before I leave," Emilia said impatiently. "How far along am I?"

Twyla checked her machine and determined, "About a week. I don't know how we found out this quickly."

Emilia hurried out of the doctor's office.

**Jedi Temple**

**Anakin's Quarters**

**No P.O.V.**

Anakin bounced excitedly on the couch, his mind racing. He couldn't wait to tell Emilia.

As if on cue, Emilia burst through the door.

"Anakin Skywalker, I want you to tell me the truth about what happened that night and I want it now," Emilia gushed angrily. "And don't even think about lying to me. I am dead serious, Anakin. Tell me the truth or I swear on my grave that I will bash your head!"

"You kissed me," Anakin said. "That's it."

"How dare you lie to me?" Emilia said. "Tell me the truth Anakin."

Anakin stared deeply into Emilia's dark blue eyes, looking for a hint of emotion that could tell him that Emilia was joking, that this was all a joke to test their friendship. There was nothing. This was the first time Emilia had ever truly gotten mad at him like this before. "That's all there is to it," Anakin muttered quietly.

"Dang it Anakin!" Emilia yelled. She burst into tears.

Anakin was confused. What was going on? Emilia never cried. The only time she ever cried as hard as this was when Reuben Bolik had fractured her wrist in a training spar when she was thirteen. Anakin remembered his blood boiling when Reuben started laughing when the other Jedi weren't looking. Anakin remembered wanting to break Reuben's wrist, but then he realized that getting angry wasn't the Jedi way.

Emilia never cried when she was sad. When she was sad she would sing. She had a lovely melodic voice that could reach the highest of pitches but still stay beautiful. Whenever Anakin was sad or angry she would sing to him. It would always calm him down, and even once he fell asleep to it.

Anakin stood up and put his arms around Emilia. "Emilia it's okay!"

"No it's not Anakin!" Emilia sobbed. "You're lying to me!"

Anakin squeezed her shoulders. "It's going to be okay. Emilia, I'm going to guard Padme. I'm leaving the planet for a few weeks."

Emilia stopped crying. She so badly wanted to storm away, yell at Anakin, and never come back.

"Where are you going?"

"I don't know," Anakin replied. "But it won't be long."

Emilia's eyes burned with tears again. He had the nerve to do this? He had the nerve to lie to her, then leave her? When she was having a baby…his baby?

Emilia resisted the urge to slap him across his face. Instead, she shrugged Anakin's arms off her shoulders, walked out the door, and slammed it behind her.

She slouched against the hallway wall. Anakin wasn't coming back for her. He loved Padme, he would never love her.

**Emilia's Quarters**

Emilia packed her bags. She was going home. She was going home to Naboo for a few weeks until Anakin returned to Coruscant, then she would tell him.

Emilia packed one suitcase, that's it. She packed some of her lovely gowns, instead of her Jedi robes, and even one of her minor headdresses with the beads and jewels, not the big over-the-top ones that senators like Padme wore.

Emilia lugged her suitcase out of her quarters and onto the harsh streets of Coruscant. She was going to catch a refugee shuttle.

**Refugee Shuttle**

Anakin watched Emilia at the shuttle station. He had followed her to see where she was going. Emilia sat down on a bench, singing quietly to herself.

All of a sudden, Ferus Olin comes up and sits down next to her on the bench.

"Hi Ferus," Emilia said sadly.

"Where are you going?" Ferus asked. "Tesoro got worried, he sent me to follow you."

Emilia smiled. "I'm going off-planet for a few weeks."

"Ah," Ferus said. "So you're coming back, right?"

"Yes," Emilia said. "Of course, you wouldn't think I would leave you behind, would you?"

Ferus smiled. Anakin's blood boiled. To top it off, Ferus wrapped Emilia in a hug. And to top THAT off, Emilia planted a kiss on Ferus's cheek. So she went to be all whiney, crying, yelling at me for no reason, and now she's kissing Ferus?

Anakin could have slapped himself for thinking badly of Emilia right then. Emilia was always there for him, never judged him, took care of him even when he was sick after Reuben Bolik sneezed on him, and she was just a special friend.

"I have to catch the shuttle," Emilia said. She climbed onto the shuttle, and Anakin watched it disappear in the daylight.

Anakin hurried away. Where could she be going? Oh well, not time to think about that now, it was time to guard Padme. They were going to Naboo.


	3. Sneak Attack

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own Star Wars, Anakin, Ferus, or Obi Wan.**

CHAPTER 3

**No P.O.V.**

As Emilia sat on the bench of the shuttle station, she dug out her holoprojector from her suitcase and looked at the pictures. In retrospect, Emilia had met Ferus more than twice. Emilia had pictures of them when they were in the same clan together when they were younglings. As Emilia flipped through the pictures, she began to realize that she and Ferus were best friends as young children, but grew apart as they grew older. Looking back, Emilia remembered that Ferus was her best friend before Anakin.

Emilia flicked through the pictures. As the number of pictures of her and Ferus dwindled, pictures of her and Anakin became more abundant. She remembered transferring all of her projections from her old holoprojector to her new one. She found an old projection of her and Anakin the day they met. Back then, Emilia was 4'9 tall and taller than Anakin by three or so inches, then Anakin hit his growth spurt within the next few months, and by the time they were eleven and twelve, Anakin was 5'3 and taller than her by three inches. Now, Anakin was six foot and taller than Emilia by almost four inches now.

Here she was, thinking about height on her homeworld while the boy…actually _man _now…that she loved went off and flirted with some pretty politician in a secret house.

Emilia lugged her suitcase up and started for her tiny house on the Lake Country.

**Twilight Cottage**

Emilia's cottage was small, two bedrooms, two bathrooms, a kitchen, a den, and a beautiful porch on the lake.

Emilia unpacked her suitcase into the wardrobe in the master bedroom. Her bed was queen-sized, with a silky white canopy.

Emilia went onto the porch and sat on the railing, letting the breeze whistle against her face.

She dug out her holoprojector again. She flipped to the most recent projections. There was one of her and Anakin a few weeks ago, Emilia's dimpled face broken into a laugh with her sloppy little braid dangling over her shoulder. Anakin's lips were curved into a cocky smile, as if he had just told a successful joke.

Emilia also had a projection of Tesoro whose eyebrows were raised in confusion, as he examined a map upside down.

Emilia felt a shooting pain in her abdomen.

Her holoprojector clattered to the paved marble porch and Emilia burst into tears, not from the abdomen pain, but from the way things are.

Emilia brushed the tears spilling from her eyes and thought, _really, you're crying? So what, you made a careless mistake and got mad at your friend…get a grip! Sing something._

Emilia started to sing.

Emilia never really added lyrics to her song, just stuck to the basic "la-la". She would think about stuff when she sang, and mixed around the pitches to give the song a nice melody that more or less described what was on her mind.

This time, she was thinking about the moon. She wanted the stars to dance out into the sky, and she wanted to stare up at a luminous white moon. She wanted to doze off and dream sweet, fragrant, lively dreams until the end of time.

**Padme's House – Lake Country**

Anakin was meditating when something powerful interrupted his meditation. It was a voice. Not Padme's sweet, silky, soothing voice, but an equally sweet, melodic singing voice. Anakin recognized the voice. It was Emilia's. But he didn't just hear it in his head; he heard it with his ears.

His eyelids snapped open, and Anakin ran across the balcony. There was a house far, far across the lake, and the voice was coming from the house, echoing off the water. He remembered long ago when Emilia told him that she was from Naboo.

"Emilia," Anakin whispered.

"Padme, is it okay if I take the canoe out on the lake for a bit?" Anakin called to Padme.

"I don't advise that you leave my side in case a bounty hunter comes while you're gone—"

"Yeah yeah, thanks for letting me borrow it!" Anakin shouted, and leapt to the dock and then into the canoe.

He began rowing as hard as he could. The lake was pretty big, and Emilia's cottage was on the other side.

Finally, Anakin reached the other side of the lake. The cottage was small but quaint, with a shaded porch jutting out over the water. There was a beautiful, pale yellow flower in a grayish-pink vase that reminded Anakin of Emilia. Emilia was lying on a hammock tied between two pillars, still singing, her eyes closed.

There was no dock to tie the canoe to, so Anakin dragged the canoe silently onto the white sandy strip of beach next to the cottage.

Anakin quietly hopped over the railing and tiptoed over to the hammock in the center of the porch. Pastel colored beads and shells were braided into Emilia's hair, making a tinkling noise as they clanked together as the hammock swayed slightly back and forth.

Anakin leaned down toward Emilia's ear, and whispered softly, "Hello."

Emilia shrieked and rolled off of the hammock and thudded onto the paved marble porch.

She clamored to her feet. "Anakin, what the…why are you here?"

"Padme's house is across the lake," Anakin said through a grin. "We're neighbors."

"Get off my dang property," Emilia threatened.

"Emilia, why are you so mad at me?" Anakin asked. "Two weeks ago I was your best friend."

"You still are my best friend, Anakin," Emilia said.

"Then why are you threatening me?"

"I'm going to ask you one more time, Anakin," Emilia said. "What happened the night of Tabari's?"

Anakin fell silent. "Is this what you're mad about?"

Emilia swallowed. "I'm pregnant, Anakin."


End file.
